Destiny
by Cityofangels
Summary: Lara recieves an email from Alex and he is in trouble, will she help him? PLease R&R. I changed rating to T. For future events in the story!
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer, I do not own any of the tomb raider movie characters**

**Enjoy the story.**

**Chapter one, Faith Awaits us**

The beautiful brown haired woman stood before the tall iron robot. Her body was covered with sweat and several bruises covered her arms and legs. The robot was in a much worse condition, wires were hanging loose from their original position and the still smoking bullet holes were facts that would make Bryce an unhappy man. Lara smiled at that thought and dragged the robot out of the practice room.****

Once she looked up the tech was no where to be seen, only Hillary stood on her right awaiting her with a towel. She looked at her butler with questioning eyes. Hillary raised his shoulders.****

"When I arrived here Bryce was already from his place." ****

The white soft towel was offered to the tomb raider after she dragged the robot down the small stairs and released it with a rather loud crashing sound. She used the towel to wipe away the sweat that was dripping down her forehead.****

"Unusual for him to leave while I'm torturing his robot."****

A sound came from behind them. "Bugger, not again." It was the voice of the tech. He emerged from the toilet. An evil grin was forming on Lara's face when she saw Bryce hurried over to his robot and kneeled down to see how much damage Simon has this time "Lara, why are you doing this to me?"****

Only the evil grin and a wink answered Bryce as her hands trailed down the gun belt around her waist. She removed the belt from its position and hands it over to Hillary. "Build better robots Bryce, Simon is getting old." Again she winked at him and then left the room to walk upstairs for a shower.****

"Build better robots Bryce." He said imitating Lara's words. "I'll build you a new robot alright, a robot that makes you beg me to stop it because it's killing you. Yes I'd love to see that happen, Lara Croft begging me to help her because she's not strong enough." He almost screamed at Lara but she ignored the words and only smiled.****

Hillary stepped beside him and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. "Keep dreaming Bryce." He said and taps his hand on the tech's shoulder. Angry eyes looked at the smiling butler as Hillary exited the room. ****

Bryce repeated Hillary's words inside his head and concluded that it had to be a real good robot if it wants to defeat Lara. Sometimes he thinks Lara is unbeatable. She emits self control and power, which is something he has never seen with a woman before. He enjoys working with her, even though it brings many dangers. That's something he and Hillary have gotten used too. Lara would do anything to keep them from harm, he knows she does, just as he knows he can trust his life to the tomb raider.

* * *

****

****

After the shower and a tasteful dinner, Lara had seated herself behind her laptop reading her mail. It was almost midnight but too early for Lara to retire for the day. This leads her to the decision to check her mail, something she hasn't done for at least a week. Except for the spam and other rubbish, she noticed an email message from Alex West, a rather strange occurrence because she hasn't heard of him for almost a year. Before she started reading his message she first disposed of a few emails from museum. The curators these days seem to think that the relics she finds belong in a museum. A shrug left her mouth as she disposed the last few mails. Once only Alex West's message was left, she opened it and started reading.****

_Hi __Lara_****

_You probably wonder why I'm sending you an email after all these months, and what I'm about to say will probably make you angry, but I need you're help because once again I'm in trouble. _****

Alex was right, the first few lines of the message was already making her angry. He was in trouble again, but despite the anger Lara decided to keep reading.****

_I know what you think, only when __Alex__ is in trouble he contacts me, you're right and if I will be able to survive I will visit you personally to apologize. Unless off course you decide to help me and give me a chance to apologize sooner. _****

_Right now I am in __Germany__Trier__ to be exact, hiding from a man called __Peter__Bauer__. I've stolen something from him, a map that leads to something I know you have heard of. I'm talking about the bracelet of faith. I can't really decipher the map, all I know is that the bracelet is in __Japan__. That's why I need you're help __Lara__, Bauer must not get his hands on that bracelet, and you know why. _****

Since when has Alex become sentimental, Lara only knew him as the tomb raider with money as highest priority.****

_Please Lara, I really need you're help on this one, as I said earlier I am in Trier and I will stay here until you come or until Bauer finds me and kills me._****

_Alex_****

A sigh left her mouth after she read the letter. Her conscience told her to go to Germany and find him but there was that little voice inside her head that told her he was hiding something from her, actually she knew he was hiding something. He always hides something, he had a secret when they were after the prayer wheels, and he had a secret when they met again in the auction house. If she didn't know better he would make a habit of hurting her.****

Even so Lara could not ignore her conscience, he might be a jerk but he doesn't deserve to die. And if this Peter Bauer has the wrong intensions with the bracelet it was important to keep it away from him. Inside her head she started to make a checklist. Bring the mini camera, that way she could film the map to have Bryce decipher it. Bring the satellite phone, once their in Japan she has to be able to contact her tech at the time. For a moment her thought made a side way, what is she was too late? What if Bauer already had found Alex? No, she shouldn't think that way. Alex is too good for that, he wouldn't let himself get caught that easy.****

Quickly she pushed the thought aside, not bothering to shut down the laptop, Lara hurried upstairs to change into her more comfortable clothes. On her way up she runs into Hillary. "Lara it is midnight, why the sudden rush." To receive her answer he followed the tomb raider upstairs.****

"Read the message in my mailbox." She replied as she reached her room. When the butler was about to follow her inside the door was closed, leaving a stunned Hillary only inches from the door.****

The butler walked downstairs again as he decided to follow Lara's advice. His eyes fell upon the laptop. It was still on and he seated behind it. A curse left his mouth when he saw the sender of the message. Hillary knew Alex had hurt Lara many times, he also knew Lara could never forgive him. But after reading the email message he could understand the reason behind Lara's rush. As his eyes turned from the laptop he noticed Lara stood behind him. She had changed into a leather pants and tank top, her gun belt hung over her shoulder as her cold stare looked at the butler.****

"I do not need another lecture Hillary, you know I have to do this."****

The butler innocently threw up his hands "I won't say a word." ****

"Good, could you inform Bryce about this? And tell him I'm sending him a map I want him to decipher." ****

Hillary nodded at his friend. "I will Lara, you just hurry, we don't want pour Mr West to die."****

A small smile was forming on her face "Thank you Hilly." She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. ****

Hillary watched her leave, there she goes again, looking for trouble. That's the Lara he knows, helping friends, discovering that what is lost and dispose everyone that's in her way. But what if one day, Lara is unable to dispose of her enemy, he knows that day could come and it will mean the end of Lara's life. What could he do about it? There was a day he tried, one a very gentle way, to tell her she should think about retiring. The reaction of the tomb raider was something he didn't expect. She was angry with him and it took her a couple of days to forgive him for what he had said.****

Ever since that day he never tries to talk her out of anything again. Maybe it was her destiny to protect the world from men like Powell and Reiss. And the reason she is going to Germany now was simple the fact that she will blame herself if anything happens to Alex West and off course to prevent the bracelet from falling into the wrong hands.****

****

Germany, Trier.****

It was early in the morning when Lara arrived in Trier. And now that she was, Alex still had to be found. After all, he only said he was in Trier. He could be in a hotel, but if he stays in a hotel Bauer could easily find him. So what would she do if she was Alex? Hiding on the streets, no not that. Then there was only one option left. Alex has a friend here, a friend he can trust and from that friend he was able to send a message. An idea slid through her mind and made her decide to contact Bryce. The phone only rang once before he answered. Strange, normally at this time he's still asleep.****

"Morning Lara." He said, the sound of his voice wasn't sleepy at all.****

"Morning Bryce, you're up early."****

"I heard you leave this morning and asked Hillary why. He informed me about the yank and I decided to do a little research for you."****

Lara raised her eyebrow "Like what?" she asked.****

"I've found some information about this Bauer chap. It says here that he is one of the big men in the German underground. He's been accused for murder, robbery, rape and kidnapping. But not once he was convicted."****

Alex really had gotten himself into trouble. Peter Bauer wasn't just an ordinary criminal, to Lara he more sounds like a freak after Bryce had told her this.****

"What else did you find out?"****

"Well, I figured you want to know where exactly Alex is hiding, so I traced the email message."****

Looks like Bryce was one step ahead of the tomb raider. "And did you found the location?" ****

"Yes, it came from the Auelstrasse, a few miles south of Trier."****

The young tech had done a great job. She should give him a vacation once she's back at the manor. "Good job Bryce, I owe you one." And after that she hung up the phone.****

Lara walked back to her rental jeep and moves it on the road immediately. After a few minutes she had reached the Auelstrasse. For the first time Lara started to doubt about the information Bryce had given her. There was nothing in this street but a deserted old villa. Could Alex have emailed her from this house, most likely not. Even so, the tomb raider decides to have a look around. Slowly she paced to the front door, her hand reached for the door knob and pushed it open.****

A creaking sound disturbed the silence in the villa when the door was pushed open. It was rather dark inside but Lara resolved this partly by using her flash light. The house was entirely empty except for the small table resting in the center and a staircase leading up. There was another door, it would probably lead to the kitchen. ****

"Alex?" she said softly. But just as she expected there was no answer.****

Her eyes fell upon the door in front of her, _let's see what's in there_, she paced forward and heard the floor creak under her feet. Her hand reached for the knob, but then something unexpected happened. ****

The door flew open in her direction, too fast for Lara to realize what just happened, it landed hard with Lara's body. She flew through the air for, three, maybe four meters and then connected hard with the only object in the room, the table. Suddenly Lara heard footsteps coming from all over the house, she looked upstairs and saw men in black military clothes walking down. They had their rifles aimed at the tomb raider. There were so many that Lara didn't even have to think of drawing her guns. But there were more, from where the door used to be three more men emerged, followed by a man without any weapons on him, the only thing he wore was an arrogant look.****

This was when Lara realized she has been betrayed, it was a trap she had walked right in to. A trap made by the arrogant man, Lara knew exactly who he was. His silver grey hair barely covering his head and blue eyes glaring at her. This must be Peter Bauer, but where is Alex? ****

"Froline Croft, I knew you would come to us." ****

His deep voice echoed through her head, she compared him with a freak earlier today and obviously she was right. ****

"You must be Peter Bauer." She said.****

Lara was still lying on the ground, to get herself in a more comfortable position she decides to stand up, something Bauer allowed her to do.****

"Off course I am." He replied "And I'm glad to see Mr West's concerning message has convinced you to come here in such a short notice."****

"I'm certain you had to use any force necessary to make him send the message."****

Bauer started laughing and walked closer to Lara. "I'm afraid my dear, Mr West had volunteered to get you involved." ****

Lara's eyes turned stone cold. Why should she believe this man, he tries to confuse her so she would turn against Alex.****

"Yes my dear, he has betrayed you, but from what I have heard it's not for the first time."****

"I don't believe you." She managed to say ignoring the last few words he said..****

Bauer searched for Lara's eyes and then spoke again "Mr West speaks very high of you Froline, let's go see how he's doing." ****

The silver haired German walked to the front door to exit the house. Suddenly Lara felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck and stumbled to the floor. Darkness was what followed after that.****

**Did you like it? Should I continue? Please let me know! **


	2. Have some wine

**_Hi Everyone I'm back, sorry you had to wait this long!_**

_yamato-al3: __Lara__ and __Alex__ make a lovely couple eh? Don't worry I'm not going to stop writing until the bitter end._

_SeventhAngelicSlayer: Well I didn't continue immediately but I hop you didn't mind to wait to long, thnx for the review._

_Shauniwritesit: Hey Shauni thnx for the review, if you want to know what will happen to __Lara__ you should start reading immediately! :)_

_Darlian: Thanks for you're review, pour __Bryce__ huh? And you have all the right to dislike Bauer. He's a bad evil mindless criminal. Now quick start reading to see what happened to __Alex_

_Froline el-Vasper: Thank you for you're review, sorry if you had to wait so long for the next chappie, but here it is!_

* * *

**Chapter two, Have some wine**

He heard the door being opened, they have returned and that means Bauer has succeeded his plans so far. Alex was angry with himself, he never should have let Lara's name fall and he should have known that Bauer could not be trusted. It seems this problem occurs more often. He had it with Powell too and now Lara would most certainly be very angry with him because of the email he had send to her. It wasn't his intension to do this on purpose, but Bauer had planned to go to England to get her himself, knowing Bauer he would probably kill Bryce and Hillary. That's how Alex came up with the idea to lure Lara to Germany, that way her two friends won't get killed and she only will be angry with him for betraying her. He prefers that over the responsibility for the death of her two best friends.****

Alex tried to move in a more comfortable position, it didn't have much use. They had tied him against a pillar. His hands hanging above his head and his knees resting on the cold wet surface beneath him. The door opened, Alex looked up and saw Bauer and Hans walking inside, behind them were two men dragging Lara's limp body inside. The yank tried to keep the surprise from his face, he refused to look at Bauer and locked his eyes at Lara. The tomb raider was knocked out, the bump on the back of her head proved it. Only to see her like this made him feel guilty about his deeds. Lara fell out of his sight, Hans pulled out a few ropes, he was going to tie Lara to the pillar as well.

"How long has it been since you last saw her, almost a year am I right. Isn't it sad to see her again in a situation like this?"

If looks could kill, Bauer would have been dead. The hatred in his eyes didn't seem to bother the German. Bauer's eyes moved to Lara, she groaned softly which means she was waking up, a little sooner then he had expected but Hans had already tied her to the pillar.

"I have to say Mr West, you're friend is quite a beauty, a fine body, beautiful brown eyes."

"Shut up." Alex said and made clear he didn't appreciate the German's teasing.

He smirked and bypassed the American to have a better look at Lara. Lara had just opened her eyes. Her head throbbed, her vision blurred and refused to get straight. If it could get any worse she saw Bauer emerging in front of her. Her hands were bound above her head and her knees were on the cold floor under her. She stretched her hands, they connected with something. Lara looked back and recognized the person behind her. It was Alex, tied in the same position she is. Her head turned back once Bauer started talking.

"Are you comfortable Liebschen?" his own sarcasm made him laugh.

Lara however was in no mood to laugh, her glare towards the German was ice cold. "I'll be more comfortable if you untie me so that I can kill you." Her lips were forming in the smallest of smiles.

"I'm afraid that's out of option, but don't worry we won't be here for long, just a few days, after that you and Mr West will lead us to the bracelet."

Her eyebrow moved up as the words of the German landed in her ears "I'd rather die." She said.

"Off course and that can be arranged as well, but not before the two of you lead me to the bracelet. And let me explain to you, there are no other options. If one of you refuses to cooperate Hans will help you to change you're mind." Bauer leaned down, his hand moved up and he grabs Lara firmly by her jaw. "And if you are not impressed by Hans yet, ask Mr West about him, he already has quite some experience with the convincing skills Hans possesses."

For what seemed to be for ever his grip remained. The message in his eyes is clear, do not do anything you regret later on. Her reply was a calm confident look. Off course Lara croft gets scared sometimes, right now she is scared as well but if you show you're enemy that you are afraid he will only take advantage of it, a good thing that in this line of business Lara has taught herself to hide her fears at any time she wants to.

Finally Bauer removed his hand from her jaw, she bit away the pain. She looked up, noticing that Hans winked at her. So this Hans guy is Bauer's pawn, Bauer had been correct, Lara was not impressed by this man. Hans and Bauer faded from her view and seconds later she heard the door behind her close. It was just her and Alex now, Lara wasn't really happy about that.

"Lara…I…" Alex already tried to apologize.

"Shut up bloody yank." Lara growled at him.

The American tried to turn around for as much as he could "If you just please allow me to explain." There was a small begging tone in his voice.

"I wish I could say no, but as you can see I can't go anywhere and I can't put my fingers in my ears either, so I guess I'm forced to listen to you're worthless apologies."

Sometimes Lara can be cruel, the last few words she just said felt like being stabbed in the heart. Perhaps she has all the right to be like this, he had hurt her too many times and this probably is her way of paying him back.

"Thank you." He paused shortly before he continued to talk again. "At first I want to admit that I put myself into trouble again, I guess I'm too blind to see if people can be trust."

"Yes, so it seems, on the other hand you seem to be rather good in hurting me, I might start to believe you like to hurt me."

Alex sighed "fine, whatever, just let me finish." Lara didn't reply and Alex took it as a yes. "While we were still working together I told him about you, about how wonderful you are and what you're capabilities are."

For a moment Lara wanted to curse at him for talking that easy but she decided to save it for after he is finished with his apology.

"Not short after that I found out who he really was, I tried to sneak away unnoticed, but unfortunately Hans was able to stop me. I ended up here, it's the fourth day now. After two days Bauer informed me that he needed you're help has well. He had done some research about you and noted that you are a much better tomb raider then me."

Alex took a short pause, he actually expected some comment from Lara but she stayed quiet. It made him wonder if she was even listening to him. He didn't care, the least he could do was explain what happened.

"Bauer had planned an attack on you're house to kidnap you, I was afraid that he might kill Bryce and Hillary because they are not important to him. That's when I suggested to lure you to Germany instead, you should be happy he agreed my offer."

Lara shrugged "I should be happy he agreed you're offer? Alex if it wasn't for you're big mouth I wouldn't have been here at all. I would have been at home together with my friends, true friends that I know I can trust. You might have managed to keep Bryce and Hillary out of this and I'm glad you did, but still you're greed for money blinds you from the important things around you and that Alex, is the exact reason I can't trust you."

Yes he was right, Lara will never forgive him for anything he has done to her. Even in a situation like this, a situation he had taken her into. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. Alex sighed, his life was a complete failure, there was only one woman on this planet he loves more then anyone, that woman was behind him. Only that same woman hates him more then anyone on this planet and he could not ignore that fact it was his own fault.

* * *

Next day. 

Not even one word, she hadn't even said one word to him since he tried to apologize to her. The only sound that could be heard was the constant sighs of the American. Lara hadn't moved a muscle for the entire night, while Alex kept switching positions. He had been in this position for too long, his legs were sore and the blood in his arms had stopped floating. How could Lara stay this calm, she'd always had been like this, Alex never understand how she was capable of doing such things.

If her hands wouldn't have been tied above her head she might have been able to reach the knife that was tugged behind her belt. This Hans had tied her wrists firmly around the pillar and made it impossible for her to break free. She was getting tired of Alex, he couldn't sit still for even a minute, the yank has no patience at all. He's uncomfortable, she knew that was partly her fault. There was no need to feel guilty about it, he had brought this on himself. When does Alex start thinking before he acts? Sometimes she wishes that he was still the old Alex, the Alex she met when they were working together, looking for the prayer wheels. That is how she wants to remembers him, she hopes that some day Alex can be like that again but she fears it will never happen.

The tomb raider was snapped from her thoughts when Alex once again shifted in another position.

"Alex could you please just sit still."

The yank stopped moving immediately "Oh, and I started to think that the English woman behind me had lost her tongue." He started shifting again. "And no I can't sit still, I've been in this position for five days now and I want to get the hell out of here!" he screamed out the last few words.

Suddenly Lara started laughing "You never were patient were you Alex." A tone of sarcasm was hearable.

"What's that suppose to mean?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just recalled some memories."

Lara suddenly didn't seem to be angry with him anymore "Lara what are you up to? Why are you being so nice to me all the sudden?"

The tomb raider turned a little to see if she could get Alex in the corner of her eye "I can't stay angry with you for ever Alex, if we want to get out of here we have to work together, I can't work with you when I'm mad at you." She paused for a moment and turned back around. "We will sort this out once we're back in England."

He must be surprised by Lara's words, there was a short silence before he spoke again. "How are you planning to get free from the ropes Lara?" he asked her.

"I'm not planning to break free now Alex, I have a knife tugged behind my belt it might be useful on another moment and I think we-"

Lara stopped talking when the door suddenly opened, she couldn't see who entered but she did hear three pair of footsteps. They passed Alex and soon Lara saw the owners of the footsteps. Brown eyes landed on the blue eyes of Hans, with it he wore a wick smile. Behind him were two other men. The blond German removed a knife from his belt, it was used to cut the ropes from Lara's wrists. Then he cut the ropes from her ankles. Hans grabbed Lara by her shirt and hauled her up, she was pushed to the two other men, their hands seized her immediately and pulled her with them, Hans followed them. His eyes glanced back for a moment, they looked for Alex.

"Don't worry Alex, I'll promise I'll treat her ze zame way I treated you."

"Don't do things that you'll regret." Alex said moving up an angry voice.

But Hans was not impressed by the American's words, he shrugged and followed his men outside. They were walking through a hallway, every five meters a dim light lit the hall. The landscape paintings on the wall made Lara guess she was in a house. Could be Bauer's house and if it was he has bad taste. A hand tugged in her back telling her to keep moving. At the end of the hall they turned left, one of the men pushed a door open while the other one dragged Lara inside. They had taken her to a small dining room. The landscape paintings endured in this room. But what surprised her even more was the crystal collection on her right. Wine glasses, jewelry, small statuettes of animals and humans. It must be worth a fortune, something told her Bauer didn't go to a shop and paid for it like a normal person would do, but she had to admit the collection looked beautiful.

A hand tugged in her back again, Hans pushed her forward "Zit down liebschen." He forced Lara to sit on a chair standing opposite of a table. There were two wine glasses on the table, none of them was made of crystal though. A full bottle of French red wine stood in the center of the table, beside the bottle was an opener. On the other side of the table stood another chair, empty, but Lara didn't have to guess who is going to sit there in a few moments.

With these thoughts entering her mind, Bauer walked inside. He had dressed himself in complete different clothes. A black pressed suit, with under it a white blouse and a blue tie. A disgust feeling entered her mind when she remembered what Bryce had told her about him. This man had been accused of crimes many times, one of them was rape. Even though she had the slightest of feelings that raping her was not in his plans, Lara stayed extra careful in case she might need that knife tugged behind her belt.

Hans and the other two men took a few paces back but they all had their eyes on Lara like a hawk. Bauer elegantly seated himself at the empty chair, his hand reached for the wine bottle and then his other hand moved to the opener. With everything he did Lara kept staring at him on a calm confident way. Bauer started to open the bottle.

"Good afternoon liebschen." He said but didn't move his eyes from the bottle he was about to open. Lara was getting really tired of being called liebschen by all these German's. "Have you already seen my marvelous crystal collection Lara?"

"Yes, quite impressive." Lara answered as she knew she could not ignore that the collection really was beautiful.

"Impressive indeed." The wine bottle was open and after he had filled his glass he offered Lara some win. "Wine?"

"No thank you."

He ignored Lara's answer and poured the wine in her glass. Even so Lara doesn't intend to drink the wine. The German placed the bottle back on the table, he leaned back in his seat and reached for his glass.

"Please Lara, I don't like to drink all alone." Kindly he asked Lara to drink her wine.

"And I don't drink on an empty stomach."

Bauer sighed, he placed the glass back at the table and narrowed his eyes at Lara. "I'm afraid that there is no more food for today, well not for you off course. So please drink with me, unless you want Hans to ask you." Lara frowned, aiming her eyes at Hans for a moment. All this trouble for a glass of wine and only because she prefers to keep Hans out of it her hand reached for the glass. It was placed on her lips and she took a small taste of the wine. The soft taste of the liquid surprised her, it tasted good and Lara had to admit that Bauer had chosen a good wine. She took another few sips and then placed the glass back on the table.

"Good girl." Now Bauer took a few sips from his wine as well.. "Mr West has told me interesting stories about you Lara."

"What is it that you find interesting about me Mr Bauer, because the only thing Alex finds interesting about me is my money."

She had made him laugh "Yes, I've noticed Mr West can be convinced easily if you just confront him with money." He took a few more sips from the wine. "But that is not what Mr West has told me. It were more words like, determined, strong, beautiful, stubborn and I have to agree with what he said, especially the beautiful part."

The tip of Lara's eyebrow moved up at his words. What was his intension with this? Was he trying to scare her, or was he showing his charming side to Lara, in either way Lara wasn't impressed.

"I wish I could say the same about you." She answered with sarcasm.

In the corner of her eye she saw Hans moving towards her, the caustic remark was not appreciated by the blonde German. But Bauer moved his hand up and stopped him.

"It's alright Hans, it is already clear how this tomb raider thinks about me, she does not need to tell me that, but please be so kind to show our dear friend the map Mr West helped us find."

An old piece of paper was placed under Lara's nose. "We know the location only there is a small line written below ." Bauer leaned closer and moved a finger towards the line. "Mr West was kind enough to tell me you are capable of translating this line, so if you please."

Before Bauer asks her if she preferred Hans to ask her to translate the line Lara decided to do as she was told. Her eyes rolled over the sentence, it was written in ancient Greek.

_Ancient Greek, Alex could have translated this as well, why would he have told Bauer I can only translate it?_

Her fingers trailed down the words as she repeated the Greek words inside her head, it didn't take long before she finished the translation.

"In here faith decides you're path." She said out loud.

Bauer frowned "impressive, what does it mean?"

The tomb raider folded her arms and leaned back in her seat "I don't know yet, I can only find out once we're in the temple."

"Good, Hans bring her back and start the preparations to leave to Japan."

The translation had made a change in Bauer's head, all he seem to think of now was leaving to Japan as soon as possible, he didn't even seem to bother about Lara not drinking her wine. She felt Hans grabbing her arm, hauling her from the chair, pushing her forward.

"Come one liebschen back tzo you're boyfriend."

They took her though the same hallway again, the door to her prison room opened. Alex was still at his place, but off course he could not go anywhere. For the first time she noticed how badly Alex had been battered. He had a blue eye and a large bruise on his temple. His arms and stomach had several small cuts and his lower lip was swollen. As she passed the yank they had short eye contact, but as they lost contact Hans abruptly pushed Lara on her knees, one man grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms up while the last man tied the ropes around Lara's wrists. Hans leaned down and tapped his hand on her cheek.

"You've been a good girl Frolein Croft, you zid better zhen Mr West."

He offered her a last wick smile and then left the room, together with the two other men.

"So Alex, are you ready to leave?" she asked the yank.

"Where are we going?"

"To Japan, together with Mr Bauer, he let me translate a line at the map, once I translated it he seemed to be eager to leave."

"In here faith decides you're path."

Lara was startled "He already asked you?"

"Yes but obviously he didn't believe me, guess he decided to ask you as well to be sure I was telling the truth."

"I was already starting to believe you forgot how to read ancient Greek." Lara replied moving up a small smile knowing Alex could not see it.

"Don't worry about that Lara, I can do it better then you."

Lara shrugged "If that's so then it's the only thing you do better then me, now try and get some rest. I know it's not going to be easy but tomorrow we need all our energy on the temple and Bauer."

"As you wish milady."

He moved his head aside until it only just landed on Lara's shoulder. She didn't seem to be bothered by it and for the first time in a few days Alex fell asleep instantly.

**Am I still doing alright? If you have tips to help me please let me know. I see if I can hurry with the next chapter.**


	3. The scent of dried blood

**Thank you Darlian, MJ skywalker, chainofmemmories, scarlet, Chianna, Aurora and Freya, dit I get them all? I think so, pooh, seven reviewers in one chapter, I believe that's a record for me. **

**Sorry I had to keep you all waiting so long for the next chapter, but im a very busy woman. I hope from now on to update a little faster as I have more time, time that I will also spend in me other story. Hope you like this chapter.**

**Cheers, Angel…

* * *

**

_Chapter 3, The scent of dried blood_

Strange voices echoed in Lara's ears, voices she hadn't heard before. Lara tried to listen to what they were saying but it was difficult, her head throbbed and prevented the tomb raider from concentrating. She tried to open her eyes, but there was still darkness. She was blindfolded and couldn't use her hands to remove the blindfold because they were tied behind her back.

The tomb raider sighed in frustration and tried to listen to the voices again, this time she could make more sense out of it. There must be two or three men, one of the voices came from Bauer himself, only he was speaking Japanese. Then the other two men almost certainly were Japanese, which probably means that Bauer had already taken her and Alex to Japan.

The last thing Lara remembered was Hans entering the prison room she and Alex were in. He must have drugged them and the drug must have worked for more then ten hours. It made the tomb raider wonder if they were separated or still together.

"Alex?" she asked.

The metal of a rifle immediately jerked in her side. Lara grunted from the sudden pain and surprise.

"Shut up Croft."

And that was Hans, but no reply from Alex. He could still be unconscious, they could be separated, who knows, there are so many possibilities. Lara was certain he wouldn't be dead. Bauer needed both of their expertise. The talking stopped and it didn't take long before Lara felt a pair of hands digging under her armpits and hauling her back on her feet. The barrel of a rifle connected with her back again and forced the tomb raider to start walking.

The arms that were holding her seemed kind enough to prevent her from hitting the obstacles she couldn't see. Lara heard a door was being opened and suddenly the hands that were holding her pushed her forward. Lara stumbled when she connected with something and fell on the floor. She heard the men around her laugh, her fall probably was a little clumsy. Let them have their fun, Lara will have her own fun when the time comes, she still has the knife hidden behind her back

A horrible scent entered her nose. A rotten smell of dried blood. It gave Lara the feeling she was in some sort of slaughter house. Footsteps came closer and someone yanked the blindfold from Lara's head. It didn't cost her much time to adjust to the light around her. There was just enough light to see the man standing in front of her, Hans.

"Guten tag Lara, zit you get a gut sleep?"

"I dreamt I kicked your German arse, so my night was rather good yes." Lara said sarcastic.

Hans started laughing.

"Gut, because kicking my arse will only happen inz your dreamz." He said with his horrible German accent. "I hope you enjoy yourr stay, it will be a long zjourney."

Then suddenly the lights went on, while Lara flickered her eyes to adjust to the light Hans stepped aside, showing the tomb raider where that horrible smell was coming from. Lara wasn't their only prisoner in this room, though she doubted these two men were still alive.

In front of her were hanging too men, hands tied above their heads and their feet hanging above the floor. They were covered with blood, blood from injuries all over their bodies. Once Lara noticed that one of the men's bone from his left upper arm peered through his flesh she looked back no longer wanting to see the disgusting view of these two pour men.

"Zis is what happens if you zon't listen to us…" Hans said "You die, painful but slow…"

The expression on Lara's face stayed emotionless, it was disgusting to be locked up with these two men, but Lara did not allow Hans to intimidate her. Hans laughed at her and then ordered his men to leave and lock the door. The last man that left the room closed the door behind him and locked it. The heavy metal door told Lara that she was certainly not in a slaughter house. Doors like these you normally see in ships, mostly transport ships.

She sighed, this was not going as she hoped. Where is Alex, is he getting the same treatment she does, is he still alive. How can she make her escape if she doesn't even know where he is? And now that they will be in open sea soon, the chances to escape are very small.

* * *

Alex gritted his teeth as he saw Hans' fist coming at him again. This time it landed in his stomach, leaving Alex without any air in his lungs. He tried to catch his breath while Hans grabbed his wrists. Alex had his wrists tied together in the air as they did their best to carry the weight of his body that was slightly shifting back and forth. His feet were inches from the floor, it would be much more comfortable if he could stand on his feet, but much to his dismay it was not possible.

"Why again were you doing this?" Alex joked.

"Just fur die fun…" Hans replied and punched Alex in the face this time.

"Enough for now Hans."

Bauer entered the room on a calm pace. With his hands behind his back and his eyes focused on Alex, who didn't look very good at the moment. Blood came from his nose, his lower lip had grown even thicker, both of his eyes were black and a large cut was still oozing blood on his forehead. And he probably would have a few bruised ribs too.

"I must say that Lara is doing much better then you are Alex."

Alex shrugged "Why? You don't like to beat up an innocent woman for fun?"

Bauer stopped walking when he was about a meter away from the American.

"Oh come on Alex, you know me better then that. I'd like to draw attention to women on a different way, a way that will have much more affect then a few punches if you know what I mean…" he said with an evil grin..

Anger shot in Alex' eyes.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

His anger made both Hans and Bauer laugh.

"Ha, and what are you going to do about it Alex?"

"I don't have to do anything, Lara is strong enough to make sure of that…"

The German madman unfolded his hands from his back and took of the jacked of his tuxedo.

"Hmm, yes, Lara is a strong woman. But I'm certain that there is a way to break through her strong heart, I can be quite convincing sometimes."

Bauer folded his jacked over his arms, and then he continued talking, intimidating the American.

"Yes, I'd love to let my hands slide down the soft skin of her thighs and when I look into those beautiful brown eyes I will see fear, then, slowly I will make my way up to her…"

"Shut up!" Alex yelled as he wasn't pleased by Bauer's threats. He couldn't take it, Alex could not allow him to talk like that about Lara.

Suddenly Bauer grabbed Alex by his throat and aimed angry eyes at him.

"Never ever, interrupt me when I'm talking, especially about matters as important as these."

"You're disgusting." Alex said.

The German laughed, completely fading away the anger he had seconds ago.

"Off course I am, that's part of who I am. I want to intimidate people, and I can see it is working." He turned to Hans. "He is all yours again Hans, I'm going to visit Miss Croft."

He said it on a way that made more anger boil inside of Alex' his eyes, but before he could do or say anything, a fist already connected with his stomach again, leaving the American breathless. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**England, Croft manor.**

"I knew it, I knew that bloody yank would betray her again." Bryce said as he was hysterically tapping the keys on his keyboard.

Hillary was standing behind him, calm as always he watched Bryce's research with interest. Lara had mysteriously disappeared, Bryce blamed Alex for this but Hillary had the feeling there was more to it. Alex might be a bastard but kidnapping Lara, he knows better then that.

"Calm down Bryce, Alex isn't the type of man that would kidnap Lara, besides, it will take quite some effort to kidnap Lara, I don't think Alex is capable of doing that."

Bryce frowned "Well you might have a point with that, but I still think that he setup a trap." He said.

"That could be possible yes, and I believe that is what you are trying to find out."

"I'm trying to find out where Lara is now, according to the email the thing Alex was looking for has to be in Japan, I want to know where exactly that is."

Hillary frowned.

"Well, how much longer do you have to continue smashing your fingers on the keyboard to find out where she is?"

"The more you keep pushing me the longer it takes, don't you have some cleaning to do?"

"I'm sorry Bryce, but I care for Lara too, in case you didn't know…"

The tech sighed.

"I know Hillary, but you keep me out of my concentration, please let me do my work, I'll call you once I've found something."

Hillary nodded "alright, I'll see if I can put my mind on something." He said and exited the tech room.

But at the moment it was impossible to put his mind on something else then Lara. He had heard what kind of a man Peter Bauer was. Lara is in his capture now, perhaps this was Alex' doing, but he certainly wouldn't do it on purpose. He hasn't been nice to Lara, but something like this is not in his nature, besides, Alex loves Lara more then any other man on this planet, Hillary knew that.

But he was worried about Lara, off course she can stand up for herself, Lara is confident and strong. But he's afraid what will happen when she's in the hands of a man powerful as this one. Lara always gets herself into danger, that's the work she does. It's the work that brought an end to Lord Croft's life.

Hillary had raised Lara ever since and sees her as his daughter, he knows Lara sees a father in him too. And they say that a father should never burry his child. Although he isn't Lara's real father, with the danger Lara gets in, Hillary fears that this will happen.

* * *

**Please tell me what you think of this chapter, I'll hope I can update soon!**


	4. First class traveling

**First of all I want to apologize for letting you wait for ages, I can come up with the most standard excuses, but the truth is, I don't have one :) So go ahead and yell at me for not updating, I deserved it.**

**Chain, Thnx for the constant support, enjoy the next chapter:)**

**Darlian, I'm glad you liked Lara's sarcasm, I like it too. And you're right, Bauer is Sadistic, just read the next chapter! Thnx for the review.**

**Robena, Well, your reviews were convincing enough to continue. Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. Oh and tell Alex not to worry about himself, all ends well. And if he can promise to behave, I might even have a surprise for him, and I'm sure he loves it!**

**Blue Moon, Well…uh…thnx for encouraging me, your review was one of the reasons I went back to this story, so thnx a lot, you're the best. I'm glad you liked it, and hey, don't die, this story will have an ending, I promise you that.**

**Well, that's it, now enjoy the next chapter.**

Chapter 4, First class traveling.

Seated in the corner of her prison cell, with her eyes closed, Lara tried to get some rest before they would take her and Alex into the jungle to find the bracelet. The two dead men that had kept her company earlier today, had been removed about an hour ago. It had been an unpleasant sight, but it proved to her that Bauer is a dangerous man. Lara knows that she and Alex will have to do everything possible to stop him. If a man like him can control that bracelet, there will be nothing in her power to stop him.

But there was no need to worry about that now, she still has plenty of time to come up with a good plan. Her father always used to say, good things happen to those who wait. Waiting isn't a problem for the tomb raider. Lara had always been a patient woman. Although she is still young, Lara has a lot of experience, experience that had helped her survive unlikely situations. Just like the situation she is in now.

She sighed, and was wondering how Alex was doing. Remembering the way he looked, when she saw him yesterday, she didn't think they were as _nice_ to him as they were to her. But Lara knows Alex is a strong man, you may not see it from the outside, but if you know him the way she does, you'll know that he is a man not to be underestimated. Alex is good in tomb raiding. Almost as good as Lara, although she hates to admit that sometimes.

Although she prefers to work alone, Lara was glad that Alex was with her. Despite the fact that it was his doing they were in this situation. Lara knows she can't blame him forever for this mistake. It was more important to team up, and find a way to get out of here alive, together with the bracelet.

Her thoughts were disturbed when the door that held her prisoner, was being opened. Lara frowned, she knew they were still on open sea, so this wasn't some guard getting her ready to leave the ship.

It seemed she was right, a shrug left her mouth when she saw Bauer emerging in the door opening. A guard was right behind him, and followed the German inside. He closed the door and stepped in front of it, to prevent the tomb raider from escaping, if, that is, she was planning to do so.

"Good morning liebschen, have you enjoyed your journey so far?" Hans said, as he calmly paced towards the tomb raider.

"I prefer first class traveling." Lara said with a smirk.

Bauer pulled up a smile.

"I'm afraid first class accommodations went to Mr West, Hans is taking good care of him."

Lara knew perfectly well what he meant by this.

"But if you prefer, I can have Hans stop by later today." He said.

"No thank you, I'm quite comfortable." Lara replied.

Bauer stopped walking, standing about two meters away from her. He moved his hands up, motioning the tomb raider to stand up.

"Get up." He said to clear his point.

With her hands cuffed behind her back, she couldn't use them as support, so she used the wall to crawl back on her feet.

"Tell me Lara," Bauer started "Why did you, a rich Lady, chose for a life full of dangers and challenges?"

Lara cocked an eyebrow at the unexpected question Bauer asked her.

"Where is this sudden interest coming from Mr Bauer?"

Bauer folded his arms and locked his eyes on those of Lara.

"I would like to know my enemies better, just one of the many characteristics I possess liebschen."

"Hmm…living on the edge is simply more thrilling then going to tea parties and cricket." The tomb raider said.

Bauer smirked.

"That it, what about your interest for the ancient?"

"My interest for the ancient, Mr Bauer, lies completely different from your interest, and that's why my life is full of dangers and challenges."

"Touché, Miss Croft, touché."

He turned around and walked back to the guard. Lara watched him carefully, wondering if he already left the room. He did not and seemed to be holding up his hand, waiting for the guard to put something in it. Whatever it was, all Lara could see was that Bauer put it in the left jacked pocket of his suit.

"You know Lara," he said and turned to walk back to the tomb raider "when I first saw you, in that house in Germany, I immediately knew that you were a special woman. The combination of being skilled and beautiful is something you don't see everyday."

Lara stayed silent, keeping her eyes calmly focused on the German, but in the back of her mind she was wondering what he had put in the pocked of his jacked. Bauer stopped walking, this time he stood much closer to the tomb raider. A little too close, if it was up to Lara, and if it wasn't for the wall behind her, she would have taken a few steps backwards.

"However, that wasn't the only thing I saw in you." He continued.

"What else did you see then, Mr Bauer." Lara interrupted him.

"Confidence, arrogance, ignorance…" he stated "enough reasons for me to know that you can cause enough trouble, if you want."

Suddenly he moved his hand up and put it on her cheek, forcing the tomb raider to look at him. She stayed calm, although from the inside she felt some nerves that were trying to get the better of her.

"That, Lara, is why I do not want to take any risks with you."

Lara saw his free hand going to his jacked pocked, he removed a needle from it. At the same time his hand moved to her throat, he put a firm grip around it and pressed her against the wall. Lara saw some strange blue liquid in the needle as Bauer held it up and used his teeth to remove the cover.

For a moment, Lara was thinking of breaking free, but the realization of the guard at the door and the gun he had on his person, stopped those thoughts. She did her best to stay calm, but as Bauer moved the needle forward, she instinctively started struggling. It was useless though, the German was holding her too lightly for that.

"Don't worry Liebschen, it is just and insurance, nothing more."

Then he pressed the needle into her left upper arm. Lara flinched, as she felt the liquid entering her body. Bauer kept pushing until the final drop had entered her body, then he slowly pulled it out and relieved his hand from her throat.

"The drug works almost immediately after it enters your system." He said.

Lara kept staring at Bauer, but suddenly she started to feel cold.

"Bloody bastard." Lara said through her shivers.

The cold started to increase, she felt her body slightly started trembling. Her lips turned purple and she could barely control her body anymore.

"Its cold, isn't it liebschen."

Lara looked back at Bauer, the grin on his face was evil. She lost control of her body, and let herself slid down the wall, on the floor. The feeling inside her was almost unbearable, it was so cold, Lara had never felt like this before.

"Don't worry, it will only work for about two hours, long enough to make sure you will not cause any troubles while we set ashore." He laughed at her and turned around "Lets go Markus." He said to the guard.

The guard nodded and opened the door, he walked outside and Bauer followed him. He turned and smiled at Lara.

"Enjoy your stay Lara."

Lara could barely see him through her blurry vision, but she saw his uncaring smile just before the door was closed and Lara was left into loneliness.

* * *

Bauer was standing on the deck of the ship, enjoying the view of the landscape that was starting to get closer. Only an hour left, then they would reach land and continue on foot. Everything was going as planned, no delays and no troubles from his two prisoners. Although he made a mental not to himself to have Hans keep a very close eye at Lara, he doesn't trust her at all.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Hans asked Bauer in German.

Bauer turned away from the landscape looked at Hans, who was standing not too far away from him.

"Tell me Hans, who do you think is more of a threat for us, Mr West or Lara?"

Hans shrugged.

"I think that's obvious, Croft off course." He said.

"I just had a nice chat with our tomb raider, I gave her some drugs, so she at least won't cause any trouble when we set ashore."

Hans smiled.

"Very wise decision sir, but why did you want to talk to me then?"

"I do not trust her at all, once we are on land she will stay cuffed and you will be constantly at her side."

"Don't worry sir, I will not leave her side, I always like the company of a fine looking woman." The German joked.

Bauer laughed.

"Yes, she is a beautiful woman, but you know what they say about beautiful women?"

Hans nodded "Beautiful women are dangerous." Hans said.

"They are indeed, especially this one, but I trust you will not loose her out of your sight."

"From here on out she belongs to me sir."

"Good, begin the preparations, I want to leave this ship as quickly as possible."

Hans nodded and then walked down the staircase that was leading him to the lower decks. Bauer gave the landscape in front of him one final look and then walked back inside the ship to look for the captain and give him the last instructions he needed to bring them ashore.

* * *

**Well, that was another chapter, and once again, I am soooooo sorry you had to wait so long. As it goes now, I don't think it will take me that long again to update, so keep your eyes open for following chapters:)**


	5. the Escape

_First of all, I want to apologize for letting you wait for ages for me to update. Second, thank you all for reviewing and sticking with the story even though it's already lasting for such a long time. Free cookies for you all!_

_Now, I will not keep you waiting any longer, just enjoy the next chapter, hope u will like it, it's packed with quite some action:)_

Chapter 5, the Escape

Alex had been brought to the deck of the ship, he looked out at a small, but busy harbor. It was a miracle the ship managed to set ashore on this small harbor. He looked down, his eyes landing on a jeep, which was being loaded with supplies. Two, maybe three men were guarding the truck and the men who were loading it. One guard send out a kick, as a man dropped one of the supply boxes, making it shatter to pieces as it landed on the street.

Alex frowned, this wasn't just a mission to find the bloody artifact, Bauer was smuggling weapons at the same time. Quite clever, he thought. A big transporter ship sets Shore in a small harbor, but no authorities near. Come to think of it, Bauer had been doing this for years now, he probably knows exactly what to do, to not get caught.

His eyes shot away from the scene, when he saw two of Bauer's men dragging Lara on the deck as well. The American felt his eyes widening in shock, Lara's body hung completely numb in their arms. This made him angry, though he didn't show it. Not seeing any physical injuries, she must have been drugged. From past experiences, the American knew, Lara rather wants to be shot, then to be drugged.

A small bit of his worries faded, when he saw Lara was awake, just barely though. She looked at him wearily. Her eyes constantly flickered, meaning she was disorientated. Bauer probably just didn't want Lara to cause any trouble during the switching from the boat to land, all of the sudden, a plan was beginning to form itself inside his mind.

He advanced towards Lara as the two guards just threw her on the deck of the ship, he heard a soft gasp leaving her mouth. It seemed the guards didn't mind, when Alex knelt down next to her, placing his hand on her back, slowly turning her around so that their eyes met.

"Lara, you alright?" he asked her, slowly removing his hand from her back.

She looked up at the sound of his voice, the flickering of her eyes went slower, but he felt her body shivered a lot. She shakes her head as Alex tried to help her getting back on her feet, it was more then she could handle, so he let her sit down on her knees.

"Cold, so cold…" she softly said.

"He drugged you, didn't he?" Alex asked.

Lara could only nod in reply. Alex put his arms around her, hoping it would make her a bit more comfortable and perhaps a bit warmer. They were being watched by four guards. There was no sign of Bauer and Hans. Maybe they were on Shore already, doing their business for the weapons they had smuggled with them.

Now was the perfect time, to inform Lara of his plans.

"Lara, listen carefully. I am going to get us out of here, but I need to know if you can walk, we will only get one shot, and I need your help."

Lara's slump body suddenly went up, it seemed she had more energy left then she was showing the men around her. She had tried to fool Bauer and his men, pretending she was weaker then she actually was. Clearly, it had worked, even Alex had fallen for it. He slightly grinned.

"Gi-give me a few minutes." She said. Lara might have been deceiving her condition, she still was weaker then normal.

"I will, just hear me out." He said in a whisper. "On shore, Bauer's men are loading a jeep with weapons, apparently, Bauer had smuggled them with him and has some kind of weapon deal."

He looked at her, her eyes didn't seem to be that blurry anymore, though they did flicker constantly, probably because of the drugs and the cold it gave her.

"That truck is going to be our way out of here. As soon as we are on shore, we make our move. It will be a tough fight though, three guards are watching over the jeep, and we probably have our own guards to take care of, do you think you can fight off a few?" he asked Lara.

Once again, Lara only nodded. She still tried to let the guards believe she was in a weakened state.

"Good, I just took your knife from you back, wait for me to make my move." The American said.

Lara looked at him, wondering when and how he managed to do that. He smiled at her.

"When I helped you back up." Was all he said.

Alex still had his arms wrapped around her body, when she suddenly went numb again. Alex was worried the drug was giving her another set back, but then Bauer and Hans appeared in his sight, explaining why her body went numb. He decided to play along.

"Son of a bitch, what have you done to her." He said angry.

Bauer just pulled up an evil smile.

"You don't like it, hmm? Doesn't she look peaceful in those strong arms of yours?"

Both Bauer and Hans laughed. Two Japanese men, dressed in tight tuxedo's, stood next to them, it seemed they too, were quite amused by the situation.

"A shame, she is quite the beauty." One of those men said.

"She certainly is," Bauer said as he turned to one of the guards "take them into the truck, Hans and I will follow soon, we just have some business to attend to first."

The guard nodded, motioning Alex and Lara to get up. Alex saw Bauer walking downstairs again, with Hans and the two Japanese men following him closely. He smiled to himself, this couldn't be more convenient. He helped to get Lara back on her feet, who was still pretending she couldn't do anything on her own.

"Move!" one of the guards said, jabbing the barrel of his gun in Alex's side.

He had already taken so much abuse the last few days, he barely noticed this, besides, Hans hits much harder then this man does.

"Come Lara, just lean on me." He said as he swung her arm around his neck.

Lara did just that, not using a single muscle, making it extra difficult for Alex to carry her. He didn't care, Alex had already noticed only two guards brought them down, and with the three guards downstairs they might actually stand a chance.

"Only two guards with us, five in total once we reach shore." He whispered in Lara's ears, while they walked down the metal stairs, leading them off the boat.

Next to the jeep, stood a truck. The guards were supposed to bring them into the truck, just as Bauer had ordered. Alex glanced around one last time, making sure he hadn't overlooked anything. There still were only three guards by the jeep. The men who had been loading the jeep, were already finished, there could not be a better timing.

"Now…" he whispered in Lara's ear.

Alex felt her muscles tensed immediately, he let go of her, turned around and pulled out Lara's dagger, which he had been hiding under his sleeve. He jabbed it in the stomach of one of the guards. At the same moment, Lara had tackled the other one, and knocked him out with one strong blow at the side of his head.

Both tomb raiders took the handguns from the two men, they already heard the warning screams from the three men guarding the jeep.

"Their escaping, their escaping!" the guards yelled.

Alex turned and aimed his gun at the closest guard, who had just opened fire at him. It was, as if an angel was sitting on his shoulder to protect him. The bullet missed him for inches, giving Alex the chance to shoot back, only he didn't miss.

From the boat, more men appeared, running down the stairs. Lara had already seen this, and started shooting at them. Normally, she only needed one shot, but she kept missing her target. As a result a bullet gazed her left upper arm.

"Bugger." She cursed.

She aimed at the first man in front of her, this time waiting a few moments longer before she fired. While bullets skidded of the ground in front of her, she finally fired a round. This time, it landed straight into her target's heart. But two more men were running down the stairs, shooting at her. She was forced to hide behind a few crates, glancing at Alex, she saw he had already shot two of the three guards at the jeep, and was now in a struggle with the last one. She had to protect him, he was no an open target for the two guards from the boat.

Her eyes landed on the man Alex had stabbed with her dagger. Lara quickly removed his rifle and checked to see if it held a full magazine. Yes, it was still completely full, she put it back and kneeled down, so that she could aim the rifle just over the edge of the crates. The two men were already downstairs, ready to shoot Alex, but then Lara opened fire, not missing her targets.

Alex gritted his teeth as the Japanese man was holding his throat with both hands, he was trying to choke the American. But Alex found just enough strength, to move his knee up, right into the solar plexus of his attacker. The man screamed out in pain and rolled aside. While this man was still recovering, Alex made his move, smacking his fist at the man's cheek, knocking him out immediately.

Alex looked up, noticing Lara was shooting at the men who had come to try and help the other guards. He smiled as he saw one after another went down, till they stayed on the ship and fired back from there. Then he saw Bauer and Hans walking towards the railing. They immediately ducked for cover when Lara noticed them too and started shooting at them.

"Shit Lara, I think it's time to leave before they get more reinforcements." Alex yelled through the loud noise of the gunfire, which suddenly died when Lara's rifle jammed.

"Good idea." She said, tossing the rifle aside. But her eyes went towards her dagger resting in the dead man's stomach, she had an idea.

As soon as everyone on the ship noticed that Lara had stopped firing at them, they immediately starting shooting at the two tomb raiders again, that is, until Bauer started yelling.

"Idiots, I need them alive, after them!"

With Hans ahead of the group running down the stairs, Lara and Alex scrambled back on their feet, hurrying towards the jeep.

"You drive," she said to Alex. "My head feels like its going to explode."

Alex nodded, advancing to the left side of the jeep. He cursed when a bullet missed him for inches and scattered the side mirror of the jeep into pieces. Quickly he opened the door, a smile moved up when he saw the keys were still inside. Luck was on their side, but they had to go now, or else they would run out of luck faster then they would want to.

Lara had already seated herself next to him, she too smiled when she saw the keys were still in the contact, Alex started the car and Lara looked in the back mirror, her smile faded.

"Alex, get this thing going, now!" she yelled.

"Yes Ma'm." he said and jammed his foot on the gas pedal.

The jeep skidded of, right into the large crowd of people inside the harbor. Alex beeped the horn, forcing the people to move aside. Bauer's men helped them a bit, when a rain of bullets followed them and skidded of the jeep and the street, almost hitting a few innocent men and women.

The people started yelling, running away, looking for a safe place to hide from the gunfire. Lara looked in the back mirror, the gunfire stopped, and Bauer's men stopped following them, they didn't even get into the truck, which was prepared to transport them into the jungle.

Alex too, looked inside the back mirror, he frowned and didn't quite understand why they didn't follow them.

"Why aren't they going after us?" he wondered.

Lara smiled, leaning back in her seat, giving out a sigh of relief.

"One of Bauer's men was holding my dagger, I wanted it back." She said.

Alex smiled, this was the woman he loved, a genius at times.

"Why didn't I think of that." He said. "It won't take long before they find alternate transportation, though." He said.

"I know, we have to get into the jungle and dump this car. We are running away from criminals, in a jeep filled with illegal guns and god knows what else is in it." Lara said.

"I agree, but I'm sure it will not hurt, if we take a few of these things with us to protect ourselves." Alex said, as he took a sharp turn to the left.

The jungle wasn't far away now, they already saw the mountains in the distance, and with Bauer's men unable to follow them, they will have some time to get some rest and sort things out. He looked at Lara, she suddenly went completely pale.

"Jesus Lara, are you alright?" he asked, placing his hand on her head, to see if she was heated by fever. But her head felt cold, instead of hot.

"Yes, I'll be fine, it's just the drug Bauer put in me." She said.

"Yeah, I'd like to know what it was." He said.

"I don't know, it makes my body feel like its freezing, my muscles became completely useless. Obviously, Bauer thought it would keep me busy for a few hours, but I noticed a change after one hour already."

"Luckily it did, but it appears to be still working, you need some rest, try to get some sleep while I find us a good place to hide, I will wake you then." He said.

Lara nodded at him, he was right, she could do with some rest. Her eyes closed, thinking back at what happened the last few days, she suddenly thought of Hillary and Bryce. They must be worried about her, perhaps the jeep holds a phone or something else to communicate with. She will find out first thing when she wakes up, for now, she wanted to sleep and preyed that bloody drug would leave her system.

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_I hope u liked this chapter, after having to wait for such a long time for me to update, im not going to make any promises anymore hehe, ok, except the fact that I will finish this story, only it might take a while:)_


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